Understanding Religion's Relationship To Human Social Systems

In a series of claims meant to reveal the obvious legitimacy of fundamentalist Christianity,  some random fundie on the interwebz proposed a few hard-hitting proofs. Those claims are highlighted in italics . My responses are given after each claim.  --- Fundie said this: "firstly, I have personally met many scientists who became Christians and young earth believers while getting their masters/PhDs in their respective fields. The scientific evidence pushed them into Christianity." -- My reply: I'm unwilling to place faith in you (some random dude on the internet) about your personal experiences. I'm not placing faith in the 'personal testimonies' of those alleged-people either. And I think you realize that it's entirely reasonable for me to withhold such wasteful charity.   It was un reasonable for you to even attempt to get me to place such faith in any humans; including humans I can't verify even exist. Nor is it likely that you just stumbled into c

Could you   "prove beyond doubt" that the Earth is not flat? That depends on who you are explaining it to. You could not prove it to anyone who is deeply committed to the idea that the Earth is flat. When they say "prove it to me; beyond a shadow of a doubt", they mean "I bet you can't make me see it".  And they're quite right about that. We can't.   Similarly, a God-perceiver might say "I bet you can't make me perceive there isn't any deity". They too are correct. We can't get them to realize there aren't any gods. And yet, what about someone whom does not perceive any gods? Might they say "I bet you can't make me perceive there ARE any deities"? They might. Some do.  And most people would say that sounds equally dogmatic. But is it? Flat Earthers are cemented into their fanatically wrong view.  But at least their rhetoric is inconsequential for humanity. They also provide a valuable insight into the men

Re "Love your enemies" Who counted as an enemy? --- Re "Love your neighbor" Who counted as a neighbor? --- Also, what did the word "love" mean? -- -- A lot gets lost in translation. Original word meanings can often mean something different than what the English words mean. There can often be subtle references to then-common idioms; where an exact phrase can carry special meaning that the words by themselves do not convey.  Religious, cultural, and circumstantial context can be absolutely crucial to the intended meaning.  Modern readers tend to read things at surface level, through a modern lens. That problem can be worsened by churches who lead listeners into their bias.  -- I myself have general assumptions and personal biases which can influence what something seems to mean. I am well aware that my lens could be altering the meanings.  -- When I read the Jesus-character saying something like "Love your enemies", I hear it like I'm hearing